1. Giants (3): The first MLB West team to clinch playoff spot survived exceedingly well without its leading hitter and cheater, shamed outfielder Melky Cabrera, suspended for 50 games for positive testosterone test.

2. Rangers (1): In all likelihood, the four-game home series against Oakland beginning on Monday night will clinch their third straight AL West title, allowing skipper Ron Washington plenty of time to get his pitching set up for the playoffs.

3. Athletics (2): If the A’s miss the playoffs, they will look back on the squandered four-run lead in the 13th inning and eventual gut-wrenching loss to the Yankees on Saturday.

4. Angels (5): The rumors that manager Mike Scioscia could lose his job if the Angels don’t reach the playoffs made absolutely no sense to GW. Therefore, it was good to hear owner Arte Moreno put the rumors to rest by saying the skipper would return in ’13.

5. Dodgers (4): Money can’t buy happiness and apparently can’t buy a division title either. That blockbuster trade with the Red Sox is leaving the Guggenheim ownership with red faces.

6. Diamondbacks (6): Just a hunch, but don’t be surprised if Friday night begins the final home stand of Justin Upton’s production career with the Snakes. He almost surely will be dealt during the off-season.

7. Mariners (8): Just as they expected, a University of North Carolina player they drafted in 2009 has turned out to be one heckuva player. The surprise is the guy is Kyle Seager, not Dustin Ackley.

8. Padres (8): Someone should examine the water at the Peoria Sports Complex. After 152 games, the spring training partner Padres and Mariners had identical 72-80 records, and were 17 and 17 ½ games out of first place, respectively. Well, “respect”ively might be the wrong word.

9. Rockies (9): The battle cry(s) in the Mile High City is “Wait ‘til Next Year!” for the Rox and “Go Peyton” for the Broncos.

(Last Week’s rating in parenthesis)

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Jim Street

Jim’s 40-year sportswriting career started with the San Jose Mercury-News in 1970 and ended on a full-time basis on October 31, 2010 following a 10-year stint with MLB.com. He grew up in Dorris, Calif., several long drives from the nearest golf course. His first tee shot was a week before being inducted into the Army in 1968. Upon his return from Vietnam, where he was a war correspondent for the 9th Infantry Division, Jim took up golf semi-seriously while working for the Mercury-News and covered numerous tournaments, including the U.S. Open in 1982, when Tom Watson made the shot of his life on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach. Jim also covered several Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournaments, the women’s U.S. Open, and other golfing events in the San Francisco area. He has a 17-handicap, never had a hole-in-one, although once he came within two inches of an ace, and witnessed the first round Ken Griffey Jr. ever played – at Arizona State during Spring Training in 1990. Pebble Beach Golf Links, the Kapalua Plantation Course, Pinehurst No. 2, Spyglass Hill, Winged Foot, Torrey Pines, Medinah, Chambers Bay, North Berwick in Scotland, and Princeville are among the courses he has had the pleasure of playing. Hitting the ball down the middle of the fairway is not a strong part of Jim’s game, but he is known (in his own mind) as the best putter not on tour. Most of Jim’s writing career was spent covering Major League baseball, a tenure that started with the Oakland Athletics, who won 101 games in 1971, and ended with the Seattle Mariners, who lost 101 games in 2010. Symmetry is a wonderful thing. He currently lives in Seattle and vacations in Arizona (and other warm climates) as much as possible.